The national average rent in transit-accessible office buildings was 65% higher than the average market rent in early 2018, according to a new report from real estate firm Transwestern. The examination of 15 major metros shows average rent in Central Business Districts was $43.48/sf (triple net) for transit-accessible buildings, versus $26.01/sf for car-dependent buildings.

Transit-accessible office space was also at a premium in the suburbs, with an average rent of $33.43/sf being nearly 50% higher than rent in car-dependent buildings.

Source: Transwestern

In the analysis, transit-accessible buildings are defined as those within a 10-minute walk from a subway, commuter rail, or light rail facility. Based on the combined statistical areas (CSAs) in the set, approximately 39% of total office inventory is categorized as transit-accessible, while the remainder is car-dependent.

Nationally, the CSAs of Denver, New York/New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay Area are rated the highest on the transit-accessibility scale, with approximately half of the office market’s inventory qualifying as transit-accessible. View an interactive map of the top CSAs.

“As workplace amenities have become increasingly important to companies in attracting and retaining talent, tenants are most certainly keeping accessibility to mass transit on their radar when surveying office product,” said Brian Landes, Director of GIS/Location Intelligence for Transwestern. “Not surprisingly, vacancy for transit-accessible buildings is lower than overall vacancy, which makes these buildings extremely attractive to commercial real estate investors.”

Tech startups are vying for rent-free office space, with access to full amenities, for 24 consecutive months on the 3rd and 4th floors of Wells Fargo Center in downtown Los Angeles, which is also in the process of making its massive atrium more attractive to workers in the building and the surrounding neighborhood. Image: Brookfield Office Properties